Jim+Harwell+Customer+Service

Overview
Adult Education & Training is suffering in America. E-learning was pronounced as our savior some 10 years ago. Unfortunately, e-learning has not achieved the lofty goals people have set for it. What can we do to increase learning and interaction in corporate classrooms? With today's troubled economy many companies cannot afford expensive high tech solutions. We can provide increased interaction in our classrooms by utilizing low technology solutions such as designing our own games. I developed a simple game to use with newly hired Call Center employees that will hopefully increase interaction and learning

Instructional Objective
The objective of this game is increase new employee motivation and learning by providing newly hired personnel with the opportunity to compete against others in a interactive game that tests them on core business functions. New employees will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability recall critical information that will be used daily on the job.

Learners
This game can be played by people of all ages, education levels, and walks of life. The questions need to be changed to fit the audience. I am a Corporate Trainer and I do training for Call Center employees and other individuals that support the call center. My Call Center personnel must be able to answer the telephone, deal effectively with customers and provide the appropriate solution.

Context of Use
This game is designed to be played in a classroom environment with two or more participants and overseen by the trainer

Scope
For my particular purposes the game will have 5 categories and 5-10 questions per category. The length of the game will be determined by how many players there are and how many questions the trainer wants to ask. This will be determined by time available usually.

Object of the Game
The object of the game is for all participants to begin the game by standing up being questioned in a round-robin fashion. If a player answers incorrectly, they are eliminated and must sit down. The last person standing is the one that answered the most questions correctly and they win.

Competing Products
I received most of my inspiration for this game from the Thiagi GameLetter, 2008 but modified it to suit my needs. I have also encountered a form of this game as a youngster in Mathematics class

Design Details
The facilitator will produce category cards that deal with different subjects our Call Center employees face every day. Some sample categories will be: (These will change with the audience and subject matter) 1) Medicare Eligibility   2)  Telephone Customer Service 3) Open Enrollment   4)  Program Benefits 5) HIPAA Rules   The game will begin when formal ‘teaching’ of the subject matter has ended but before the summary. This game also offers the flexibility to play during the course if the facilitator senses diminished attention spans among the participants.  The facilitator will ask all participants to close their books, put away their notes and rise. The facilitator will display (via PowerPoint) or draw a card and inform participants of the category. The facilitator will then begin asking questions in a round-robin format. If the participant answers the question correctly they remain standing and continue to play. If the participant answers incorrectly they will be required to sit and are eliminated. The last person standing is the winner. Anytime a participant answers a question correctly they can change the category to one of their choosing if they wish.  If the facilitator wishes, he/she can have anyone that has been eliminated help administer the game or keep track of answers already given. Participants have 5 seconds to answer the question. If not answered within 5 seconds the participant is considered to have answered the question incorrectly and will be eliminated. In the event that a question has several correct answers, such as “Who is eligible for Medicare?” the participant cannot use an answer that someone else has already provided. I have no screen shots to share as this is conducted in an instructor-led format.
 * __ Screen Shots __**

Motivational Issues
This game should be an excellent motivator as it is designed for new employees. Employees will get to learn material with less pressure and competing against their peers. This will also provide new employees with the opportunity to impress their supervisors with their performance in training.

Design Process
The most challenging portion for me was trying to think of a game that has not been used previously. I am somewhat technologically challenged and I did not feel I had the expertise to produce a complex computer/software based solution so I chose to take a simpler route. I am new as a Corporate Trainer here and the training my employees have had prior to my arrival has been inconsistent at best. I decided this project would also be used in my own training room so I made it something simple but yet something that will get their attention and hopefully increase their involvement.